Archive of the pre-timeskip roleplays. If you wish to continue a pre-timeskip roleplay, you'll have to do so in the DT Freestyle subforum! PM Thalar to have a thread moved from this subforum to the Freestyle subforum.

The slave trade was a common, albeit somewhat distasteful at times, part of Val'Raveran. It consisted primarily of the more common species, but had the occasional oddity.

For example, most Halmes did not learn the Drow language well, nor could they cook, clean, look reasonably attractive by Drow standards, and fight somewhat decently.

The Halme in question was Nathan's daughter ((where is he anyway?)).

It was the Sleep Cycle in Val'Raveran. The proprietor of Nathan's Daughter was currently asleep, her storefront shut down and the auctioneers gone. The Trade Floor was primarily open, with an auctioner's podium in the center of the back wall and shackled slaves arranged along the walls. The Back Room contained many more, these in cages, and surprisingly well cared for. For slaves, that is. Regardless, it was a place where fighting would be difficult, and breaking in without alerting all and sundry even harder.

This of course meant that Garrus, Tai'ka, Aiva'ihl, and Serra'tae were going in to steal and free Nathan's Daughter, preferably without being caught.

----

Serra'tae had since realized that he was not, in fact, being co-opted into another mission by an Inquisitor and a Warden and was subsequently quiet and embarrassed about his reaction. He trailed behind as Tail End Cha'liae, keeping an eye out for... nothing much at the moment.

Nobody wanted to get in the way of a Kyorl'solenurn squad on a mission and the people avoided the group when they walked down the streets towards the slaver pit.

Garrus kept his visor down and his hand close to his sword, while staying close besides Aiva and infront of Tai'ka. "This is the place and they should have her in the back somewhere" He said while eyeing the pair of guards at the door.

One of the guards took off inside, while the other one was left by herself. She tried to look impressive but was nervous and wanted nothing to do with the grey approaching, clearly this was not part of her contract. "My master will be with you shortly Kyorl'solenurn. But until he gets here, I cannot let you pass." She tried to act brave infront of the dangerous looking group.

[[I've started a new job myself, so I don't know when I'll be able to post in the future. I'll do so whenever I can of course. ]]

Taika had her blindfold pulled down in front of her face ever since they left Val'Raveran's version of In'luklar, and had at first had a smile on her face given who the 'temporary' warden was traveling with them. But when they had turned down into the street which contained the slaver pit of interest, the Inquisitor had her game-face on; a.k.a, stoic and blank. Most of her face was covered anyway from the forehead down to her nose as she followed behind Garrus alongside Aiva'hil, into the open platform where the hired hands of the night shift became increasingly nervous as they neared the large store stall.

Glancing to Goth-Aiva, then looking up at the guard who remained behind to inform them of their situation, Tai'ka decided she would speak first in as most official-looking manner and to the point any Inquisitor or Warden could ever get and were renowned for. "We received an anonymous tip that one of the stock inside this very building has knowledge of a possible tainted source in the area. Because of the short notice of the information, we have to act quickly. Get your master if you wish, but do not interfere in our search. All tainted must be eradicated, and all those who know of a taint no matter how insignificant of a source they may seem, is to be taken into custody for interrogation and possible cleansing."

While she did not leave her protection from behind Garrus, she was looking directly at the aura of the guard directly and officially as an Inquisitor could get. In fact, the word cleansing coupled with interrogation should have made the guard realize 'not' to say they couldn't pass. Then Tai'ka added the last part of the practiced norm.

"Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated." Remarked the Inquisitor, using a part of her empathy now to lull the guard into not being so nervous, and into allowing them to conduct the search as if it was okay to make said search. Of course Tai'ka did not know where the other guard went for the moment as she worked on this guard's mind. She would have to do that one as well, and any one else who may interfere in their little mission.

((Oh my I am a little late to the party. Do forgive me my midterms got put up far earlier than I was expecting, that is to say two and a half weeks before the actual middle of the term. >> ))

If there was anything Nathan regretted about being underground it was the absence of the sun. This wasn't a problem for those who had lived under the earth for so many years, perhaps even their entire lifetimes, because they knew how to tell time without looking up into the sky. Nathan however had never been given such an education and wasn't particular familiar with the concept of having something like an item that told time. Normally he would have looked up and just taken a peek at where the sun hung in the sky and gone from there, but being that there was no such luxury underground he had been struggling to maintain his punctuality. Then again even Nathan could tell when night had rolled in. The common people had all but gone to sleep and the only ones out and about were either the occasional city guard or any number delinquents or troublemakers. It was fortunate then that this motley crew fit equally well into both categories and drew little suspicion because of it. While his friends had made up their minds to come in through the front with a grand display of skullduggery and misdirection Nathan had made up his mind to try a much less direct route. After all he did not fit in well with his Kyorl'Solenurn allies due to hid build and the fact that he was human. For him to have entered the front would be tantamount failure, for even with a disguise it was obvious that he was the odd man out. So Nathan was sticking to what he did best, keeping unnoticed and stalking in where nobody expected him to be.

"Huh? what was that noise?" Normally guard duty at the back of the shop was the easiest. It involved a healthy mix of sitting on a chair and sleeping for the greater part of the evening until he was relieved to go inside and get some well deserved shut eye. The male guard had always enjoyed this luxury. He was the most senior guard out of all the regulars save for the captain who answered only to the owner herself. So he used his little bit of influence to snag the easiest spot out of all of them. He didn't have to be bothered and more often than not got a chance to catch a bit of shut eye. He slept easy knowing that there were four armed guards in the room behind the heavy iron door he kept watch over at any given moment and given that the door could only be opened from both the outside and the inside even if the slaves managed to overpower the men inside and take their they couldn't get out without him opening up. To him it was easy money. Tonight however something had disturbed his usually peaceful nap. It seemed he was going to have to earn his coin tonight.

"Anyone out there?" he called, leaning forward in his seat as his eyes tried to spot something that might have been causing whatever noise had woken him. "I swear if you guys are playing a joke on me I'm going to be pissed as Hel." he raised the visor on his helmet and with a sigh took of the metal barbut and set it down beside him. Whatever it was that had been making the noise was coming from the alley just around the corner. It wasn't uncommon for a Tikitiki to be found rustling through the trash there and he would be damned if he was going to let some animal ruin his peaceful shift. Shifting his weight as he rose to his feet the guard ambled his way to the edge where the alley met the clearing behind the auction house, peering down the darken alley to where heaps of trash from the day before lay. Even for underground this place was dark, lacking any sort of lighting beyond what little shone from the opposite side, so he proceeded carefully towards the center of the corridor. Just as he got there something rustled again and he immediately drew his sword, the steel blade as dull as the color in his face was as he called out again. "Alright guys, cut the crap, you can quit now." he managed one more step before something burst out of a pile of trash to his right.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he stopped about halfway through his scream as a tikitiki burst from a pile of trash and skittered off out of sight down the alley and out of sight into the street beyond. He clutched at his chest as he struggled to catch his breath, hand still gripped like the clutches of death itself around the hilt of his blade. "Stupid Sharess damned beast. Scared me half to death." with a relieved chuckle he turned about and made for the rear of the store. Much to his surprise however right as he passed the edge of the wall where the corner opened out into the larger space behind the store he felt a strong pair of hands grip him by the harness of his armor. "What`..." he had just sheathed his blade too, a pity because someone had been waiting for him to return. With a strong pull the cloaked attacker swung his opponent by his armor up and around the corner and face first into the stone of the wall. With a dull thud the man's face slammed into the masonry and he crumpled into a pile, blood flowing from his broken nose. He had been taken down quickly and quietly, and even as the blood began to drip down his face his body was being drug back down into the dark alley and covered by a thin layer of foul smelling trash. That was of course not before he had been relieved of his key and his blade, both of which the hooded attacker clutched in his hand before he crept back into the light overlooking that ominous iron barricade. Flipping his hood down the man revealed himself to be none other than Nathan himself, face streaked with sweat and he crouched down just out of sight of anyone who might want to open the door.

"That's one I suppose. Now let me see here..." he inched closer to the door, examining the lock to see where and hos this blasted key he had worked. "I just hope the others are having a little easier a time than I am." at least they had one less guard to worry about now, though there were any number of them inside. Now he just had to find a way to get the blasted door open.

Tai'ka seemed fairly in control of the situation, so Aiva'ihl just followed quietly. She found that often a well-placed mask of seriousness and silent treatment could be way more disturbing than any bravado she could come up with. The warden let her eyes jump from one place to another, scanning the guards and the place just as she would do in an actual purge, hoping to intimidate the guards. Everything seemed to be going fairly well...

"INTRUDERS!!! MURDERERS!!! ASSASSINS!!!!"

Oh, fuck. Act fast, now. Aiva'ihl turned to the guards near them and put on her most imperious tone:

- Listen! The heretics now know of our presence here and are likely to use their nether tricks. You must reach your boss, we can take care of this. Unless you wish to risk falling to the taint.

The warden motioned her head to the group, both to make sure they would play along and make them move, then stormed in as she reached for her mace.

"Stop this!" a grizzled looking woman hustled to see what the problem was. She knew there was going to be trouble today, and if a Kyorl purge squad showed up at her porch step this could be the end of her business. "Nobodies, fucking my place up without me knowing what the hell is going in."

"You cut that shit out!" She pointed and glared death at the guard that started the shouting, and the male did a few back steps to halt his progress. Garrus himself almost went wild with his sword and you didn't need to see his face to know he wasn't going to let anyone pass him without tasting steel.

The male was about the argue about the knocked out sargent but he was a abruptly slapped with steel gauntlet "I'm the boss around here." she then turned her attention to the squad "Now, what seems to the the problem Warden. You have a problem with my business, look around if you have too, you'll find no tainted here. Its bad for business fighting with Kyorls."

'That was a close one' Garrus thought to himself, 'I wonder what murder he was talking about?'.... Could it be Nathen? It better not be Nathen or he'll have some cross words with him about putting his group in danger.

"Aside then, slaver," growled Serra'tae in his best shit-is-going-down voice. "Bandying words with you is pointless in times like these. Honored Superiors- here he bowed to Aiva, Taika, and Garrus -unless there are strenuous objections, I shall provide in the frontal assault capacity." With this, he turned towards the door, unsheathed his sword, charged up a mana bolt, and burst into the room. "FORWARD AND INTO THE ABYSS!!!"

((I hope no one minds? He does have the most HP at this moment due to his armor.))

[[Get well soon Reva! And sorry for my lack of appearances too, been working weird hours ]]

A number of things happened within a few minutes which made Taika get a bit more serious and made her current target more withdrawn than usual before she was able to direct the guard further inside to perhaps get some keys so they could proceed to do things easily, quickly and quietly. Yet the Goddess above seemed to have noticed their little endeavor and decided to see what humor she could probably get out of this situation as things got noisy sooner than expected.

Doing a scan of the entire establishment it was not hard to discover where the commotion was coming from, and as she felt Garrus' concern rise about the situation, she felt he was right about giving Nathan a few choice words thanks to the sudden commotion from the idiot off duty guard crying devil.

Tai'ka followed the Warden's lead, knowing what she was doing and mentally commended Aiva for the initiative. Heading inside the tent behind her with that *must-purge-tainted* demeanor since most of her face was covered by the blindfold already, .. only to shake her head and shout at Serra'tae a bit angrily for a few seconds.

"Templar! Halt thy advance!" She said sternly, pointing a finger at the charging male but she saw her words fall on deaf ears and shook her head as Serra'tae went through anyway. "Fool Templar, the tainted scum may have laid traps and he rushes blindly into the room!" Stopping finally and rising to her tiptoes, Tai'ka's aura glowed about her body as she finally did a full scan of the entire slaver pen to where Serra'tae had entered looking official and powerful in her own right. She lowered herself to the full flats of her feet before turning to the boss of the establishment.

"The tip we have indicates one of your stock holds key information about a potential source of hidden tainted. We need to do a thorough search of this room and will require time to do this search for the stock we seek. My advice to you slaver," She said directly to the woman with a tone of voice that would spell doom of cleansing if the businesswoman said a word, "~is not to interfere in this search. Interfering will take longer and keep us in your store longer than you would like."

With her words said and not bothering to wait for a reply, the Inquisitor strutted inside behind Serra'tae and began looking from cage to cage for Vanessa, the young and beautiful blonde girl belonging to Nathan.

Aiva'ihl needed all her willpower for her aura not to jump right out of her body when Serra'tae decided the best idea was to pull a, like some people would say, Lee'roy J'enquins moment at them. "Forwards and into the abyss"? Seriously? The kid was in dire need to be paired up with a more sensible warden. Thankfully the next thing she knew Tai'ka seized control of the situation, and she wondered how much of her actions good old convincing threat and how much was actual cleasing.

- Now that our purpose has been cleared up, I believe we cannot afford to waste any more time.

The warden stepped into the room, right behind Tai'ka. When they were deep enough to not be heard by others she whispered to the inquisitor:

- Something alerted them, Nathan could be in trouble. Can you sense him?

Garrus could feel the cold chill he gets before going into a fight run up and down his spine. How could so much go wrong at a time like this? Or was it perhaps he hit him too hard during their spar... or not hard enough.

He stayed behind Aiva and gave a cold look to any one that looked at the group. Sharess must be on their side today, the owner seemed more worried about her business then the health of her guards. She still kept an eye on them but was unhindered.

Most, if not all of the stock were stripped of clothing. As much as the slaver business was dirty and nasty job, the owner here seemed to kept things organized and clean. Walking down the line of cages, the group came across a polished steel cage with a blond girl dressed in Sullisin'rune fashion. A sign of SOLD was posted infront of the cage.

Serra'tae grinned. That was fun. It was probably very foolish, given the complete lack of information they had on the situation, but still fun. He never, EVER got to that anymore, there was always some Vloz psycho behind the door that needed to be purged first. Anyway.

Serra'tae kneeled down before the cage and took off his helmet before applying his "Nice Smile" Skill*.

"Hey there, you're Vanessa, right? We heard tell that you could help us with something." Surreptitiously, he slipped her a note, upon which was written a general outline about what was going on, though nothing that could be traced back to the group. "If you'll just cooperate, we'll just let you go off to your new master, 'kay?" This was of course the cover story, but Serra'tae managed to make it look convincing